May
2, 2000 -- Sunny days on the University of Virginias
historic Lawn arent just for students anymore. Now, anyone
can bring scenes of the Jefferson-designed Lawn live to his or her
computer screen by accessing the U.Va. home page.

RotundaCam,
a Pelco video camera mounted on Old Cabell Hall, takes pictures
of the Lawn for anyone around the world to view. People at computers
on campus can watch the Lawn through JPEG images that update every
five seconds. Off campus, the Lawn can be seen every 10 seconds.

RotundaCam
serves two purposes, according to U.Va. Webmaster Nancy Tramontin.
Alumni can see a live view of their alma mater, and people who have
never seen U.Va. can log on to get a virtual view of the Universitys
architecture and Lawn.

"It
presents Jeffersons University in a new medium that allows
us to share this incredible place with others," Tramontin said.

A
project of U.Va. Information Technology and Communication (ITC),
RotundaCam debuted earlier this academic year as part of a demonstration
of the capabilities of Internet2, said James Jokl, ITC director
of communications and systems. Internet2 is a partnership of more
than 170 universities working with government and industry to create
advanced network applications and develop the next generation of
Internet technology.

Because
of its Internet2 partnership, the RotundaCam site also offers visitors
more technologically advanced options. Time-lapse movies of each
day are available up to a week later. To create these, the camera
records a still image every 30 seconds throughout the day.

That
night, each image is processed into a short time-lapse movie so
viewers can watch the sun rise, students race to class, shadows
lengthen and darkness descend on the Lawn.

Live
versions of the Lawn are also available to viewers, "but these
are extremely computer-intensive to generate," Jokl said. "They
utilize video-streaming, a technique similar to that used in video
conferencing and some distance-learning applications."

Jokl
said RotundaCam serves as an example of emerging technologies. "When
were trying to describe to people what things are possible
with technology, they can take a look at this," he said.

Other
schools, such as Cornell University and the University of Washington,
have similar campus views on their Web sites.

For
more information, contact Jim Jokl at (804) 924-0616 or jaj@virginia.edu,
or Nancy Tramontin at (804) 924-4524 or nat2u@virginia.edu.

Contact:
Jill Johnson, (804) 924-6855

FOR
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: please contact
the Office of University Relations at (804) 924-7116. Television
reporters should contact the TV News Office at (804) 924-7550.SOURCE: U.Va. News Services